S51D-2702
On the use of remote infrasound and seismic stations to constrain the eruptive sequence and intensity for the 2014 Kelud eruption

Friday, 18 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
Corentin Caudron1, Benoit Taisne1, Milton A Garces2, Pierrick Mialle3 and Alexis LE Pichon4, (1)Earth Observatory of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore, (2)University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, United States, (3)CTBTO Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Organization, Vienna, Austria, (4)CEA Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique DAM, Arpajon Cedex, France
Abstract:
The February 2014 eruption of Kelud volcano (Indonesia) destroyed most of the instruments near it. We use remote seismic and infrasound sensors to reconstruct the eruptive sequence. The first explosions were relatively weak seismic and infrasound events. A major stratospheric ash injection occurred a few minutes later and produced long-lasting atmospheric and ground-coupled acoustic waves that were detected as far as 11,000 km by infrasound sensors, and up to 2,300 km away on seismometers. A seismic event followed ~12 minutes later and was recorded 7,000 km away by seismometers. We estimate a volcanic intensity [Pyle,2000] around 10.9, placing the 2014 Kelud eruption between the 1980 Mount St. Helens and 1991 Pinatubo eruptions intensities. We demonstrate how remote infrasound and seismic sensors are critical for the early detection of volcanic explosions, and how they can help to constrain and understand eruptive sequences.